Stitches
by Ms Chanadler Bong
Summary: Hey guys! This is an AU about how Amy and Karma are forced to deal with the history they've shared because of the new relationships they've entered into. Let me know what you think! I hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for disappearing but whenever I wanted to write, life got in the way. The story deals with how Amy and Karma deal with life without each other.I haven't done this in a while, so I hope you guys like the story! Let me know what you think!

Amy placed her bag on the bed as she looked around the room she had grown up in. Once upon a time it had been all that was familiar to her but now she couldn't even remember who she was when she'd lived here.

Lauren looked at Amy from her room, the way she had many times before. She couldn't believe Amy and she were back to living in their old house. They'd both left Austin right after high school. Lauren went to live with her dad in Dallas for a while before she went onto become a successful author and voice for the intersex community. Amy on the other hand had moved to Nashville with Karma to support her music career. Karma and Amy had gotten together in the middle of their junior year of high school, after Karma had confessed her feelings to Amy.

When high school came to an end, Amy couldn't bare the thought of being away from Karma and so they moved to Nashville, where Amy got her first job as a journalist at a local news channel.

A lot had changed since then, in ways only Amy and Karma knew. Amy could never really figure out what went wrong but circumstances had led to Amy being back home, starting over without Karma.

"Hey, you okay?" Lauren asked, as she walked into Amy's room.

"Yeah." Amy said with a sad smile as she looked up at Lauren.

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing back home?" Lauren asked, taking a seat next to Amy on her bed.

"Only if you tell me, why you're here." Amy said.

"I got bored of Dallas, so I decided to give Farrah some company." Lauren said.

"Right." Amy said, raising her eyebrow in disbelief.

"Enough about me, it's your turn." Lauren said.

"Same you know, I got bored of Nashville." Amy said, trying to sound convincing.

"I refuse to believe you got bored of a place that had Karma in it." Lauren said.

Amy just stared at the floor, not wanting to talk about Karma.

Lauren could sense that something had happened between Karma and Amy.

"Seriously Amy, what's going on?" Lauren asked.

"Karma and I broke up." Amy said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Why?" Lauren asked, putting her arm around Amy.

"I don't want to talk about it." Amy said, leaning her head on Lauren's shoulder.

"It's okay, we don't have to." Lauren said, feeling bad for Amy. It was things like this that made her hate Karma, she'd never admit it but she couldn't bare to see Amy cry.

"I have no idea where she is." Amy said after a while.

"Who?" Lauren asked, pulling away from Amy.

"Karma." Amy said.

"When did you guys break up?" Lauren asked.

"Six months ago." Amy said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lauren asked.

"I didn't want to deal with it. I mean I tried to focus on work but everything reminded me of Karma and I just couldn't take it anymore. So, I decided to come home." Amy said.

"You should've called me." Lauren said.

"I know." Amy said, leaning her head back on Lauren's shoulder.

They sat there for a while and for the first time in a long time, Amy felt safe.

The next morning, Lauren marched into Amy's room and drew the blinds.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked, irritated.

"I have to go shopping and you're coming with me." Lauren said, pulling Amy's blanket off of her.

"Is this your idea of cheering me up, really?" Amy asked.

"This is my way of snapping you out of your Karma funk. Now go get dressed." Lauren said.

"Aaaah!" Amy groaned as she tried to get her blanket back but she knew there was no way Lauren was going to let her sleep.

Amy reluctantly got ready and went to the mall with Lauren.

"This is making me sadder, if that's even possible." Amy said.

"Oh shush, wait out here." Lauren said as she walked into the trial room.

As Lauren went into the trial room to try on her seventh outfit, Amy decided to find a place to sit. She was walking toward the couch that she had found after what felt like forever, when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"Amy?" The voice said.

Amy turned around and once again the red head standing in front of her had managed to make her heart skip a beat.

"Karma?" Amy said.

"What are you doing here?" Karma asked.

"I just moved back home, what are you doing here?" Amy asked.

"I just came home to visit my parents. How are you doing?" Karma asked, nervously.

Just as Amy was about to answer, their conversation was interrupted by a tall blonde putting her arms around Karma's waist.

"There you are babe." The blonde said, kissing Karma.

It was when Karma put her hand on the blonde's face as they kissed that Amy noticed a sparkling diamond ring on the fourth finger of Karma's left hand.

Karma embarrassedly looked at Amy as Amy looked back at her with a heartbroken look on her face.

"Melissa, this is Amy. Amy, this is Melissa, my fiancé." Karma said, sheepishly.

"It's nice to meet you." Melissa said with a smile as she extended her hand toward Amy.

Amy looked at Karma for a second and before Amy could respond, Lauren came, calling out to Amy.

"Karma?" Lauren said.

"Hey Lauren, how are you?" Karma asked with a smile.

"Who is this?" Lauren asked, looking at Melissa.

"Karma's fiancé." Amy replied.

As soon as she heard it, Lauren knew it was Amy and her queue to leave.

"It's nice to meet you." Melissa said, with a smile.

"Whatever. We're leaving." Lauren said, pulling Amy by the hand.

"They seem nice." Melissa said, once they'd left. Karma couldn't hear a word because all she could think about was the look on Amy's face when she'd heard Karma was engaged, she just looked so hurt.

"Babe?" Melissa said, putting her arm around Karma.

"Yeah?" Karma said.

"Are you okay?" Melissa asked.

"I'm all good." Karma said, with a fake smile as they walked out of the store.

Neither Lauren nor Amy said a word, they just got into the car to go home. The car was filled with a silence which was replaced by the sound of Amy crying.

"God I hate Karma!" Lauren said, as she put her hand on Amy's leg, while still trying to look at the road.

Amy couldn't stop the tears, no matter how much she tried. It killed her to think that she and Karma would never be together again. It was one thing to break up, it was another to know that Karma had picked someone else to spend her life with. Amy realized that her just being Princess Sarcasm would never be enough for Karma.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as she and Lauren reached home, Amy rushed to her room; slamming the door behind her

"Amy! Amy!" Lauren called out to her, as she barged into her room.

Amy was sitting on her bed, her hands covering her face as she cried.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that." Lauren said, putting an arm around Amy.

Amy hugged Lauren, not saying anything for a while.

"I can't believe she's engaged." Amy said, once she'd stopped crying.

"Me either." Lauren said, looking at Amy.

"It's only been six months since we broke up. I can't even think of dating someone else and she's about to get married." Amy said, staring at the floor.

"Why did you guys break up?" Lauren asked.

Amy looked up from the floor and at Lauren.

"Look, I know you don't want to talk about it and stuff but you can if you want to." Lauren said.

Amy took a deep breath and said, "Karma and I broke up because I proposed and she said no. We were together for a while after that but one day she just decided she couldn't be with me and up and left. She changed her number and I had no idea where she was." Tears had begun to fall from Amy eyes again. As Amy told the story, she could feel her heart breaking all over again.

"God, what a bitch." Lauren said, holding Amy closer.

"I gave her the ring." Amy said after a while.

"What?" Lauren asked.

Amy smiled through her tears as she began to tell the story."We were about ten and one day, Karma and I were really getting bored sitting around her house. Her mom wanted to buy some jewelry and so we went with her. While her mom was picking out what she wanted, Karma and I looked around. We were such kids; we were just so mesmerized by the shininess of it all but there was this one engagement ring that Karma just loved. It had this beautiful diamond in the middle and small diamonds around the band. Anyway, for years she always said that that's the kind of ring she'd want when she got engaged." Amy said, chocking up.

After a minute or so, she continued. "I never really forgot it and the truth was, I think I was ready to marry Karma the day we met but I wanted to wait till I thought she was ready. When I thought that she was, I decided to propose with the ring she'd always dreamt about. I told her I had this news assignment in Austin but I actually came here to take her parents' permission and calm my mom down about the thought that her daughter was going to marry a girl. I never thought the ring would still be there, I was ready to settle for something similar but when I got there and I found it in the display. The store owner was so happy when I asked for it, he told me that he'd had the ring for years, he could never understand why no one ever purchased it, anyway he'd found it too beautiful to remove and so he'd kept it on sale all these years."

Amy couldn't continue anymore; it was all coming back too fast. It felt like she was feeling the pain all over again.

"I'm so sorry, Amy." Lauren said, tears forming in her eyes.

Neither of them said anything, they just sat together, finding comfort in each other's company.

The next morning, Lauren decided to let Amy sleep in, keeping in mind how disastrous yesterday had been.

"Hey." Amy said, rubbing her eyes as she approached the table.

"What are you doing up so early?" Lauren asked.

"I couldn't sleep much." Amy said.

"What are you planning on doing today?" Lauren asked, gently.

"I'm going to watch some of the finest afternoon talk shows on television, what about you?" Amy asked, as she picked up a piece of toast.

"I have a meeting with my publisher but I'm going to be back by three and then I'll be home and we can hang out." Lauren said, with a small smile.

"You don't have to worry about me, you know." Amy said, as she buttered her toast.

"I know, I just thought we could catch up on some good movies tonight." Lauren said.

"Sure, that sounds fun." Amy said, with a smile.

"See you." Lauren said, as she left.

"See you." Amy called after her.

Within a few minutes of Lauren leaving, there was a knock on the door. Amy got up from the table and went to answer the door.

"Karma?" Amy said, looking clearly surprised to see her.

"Hey, is this is a good time?" Karma asked, awkwardly.

"Yeah, sure." Amy said.

"Can I come in?" Karma asked.

"Yeah." Amy said, stepping aside.

Karma looked around Amy's living room awkwardly, not knowing where to start.

"What's going on Karma?" Amy asked.

"Umm... I was in the neighborhood so..." Karma started.

Amy raised her eyebrow at Karma, knowing that wasn't the reason.

"Really?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, well no." Karma said.

"What's really going on?" Amy asked, taking a seat on the couch in her living room.

"I came to apologize for yesterday." Karma said, sitting next to Amy.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Amy said, standing up.

"I just feel like I need to explain." Karma said.

"No, you don't." Amy said.

"I just..." Karma started.

"You have nothing to explain. You found someone you want to spend your life with, I'm happy for you." Amy said, interrupting Karma.

Karma was a little shocked at Amy's reaction.

"I wish you guys all the happiness in the world." Amy said, trying to smile as her heart broke.

"Thank you." Karma said.

"I'm sorry, I have a lot of work to catch up on so..." Amy said, hoping Karma would take the hint.

"Yeah no of course." Karma said.

"Thanks for stopping by." Amy said, as she shut the door.

As the door shut behind her, Karma just stood there. She didn't know what to think or what to feel. She didn't want to hurt Amy, that was the last thing she wanted but she couldn't help but feel weird about how little her engagement seemed to affect Amy. She couldn't help but wonder, was Amy really over her?


	3. Chapter 3

Soon after Karma left, Lauren came home from her meeting. She could tell something was wrong by the expression on Amy's face.

'What's wrong?" Lauren asked.

"Nothing." Amy said, trying to avoid Lauren's gaze.

"Amy, I know something 's happened, now spill it." Lauren said, taking a seat next to Amy on the couch.

"Karma stopped by." Amy said.

"What did she want?" Lauren asked, getting angry.

"Nothing, how was your meeting?" Amy asked, trying to change the topic.

"Stop trying to change the subject and just tell me." Lauren said, her nostrils flaring.

"What's the point of me telling you, if it'll just make you angry." Amy said.

"Not telling me will make me angrier, now spill it." Lauren said.

"She came to apologize." Amy said.

"For what?" Lauren asked.

"For yesterday, for us bumping into Melissa." Amy said, staring at her hands.

"What did you say?" Lauren asked.

"I told her I was fine and basically asked her to leave." Amy said.

"Well that's great! I'm so proud of you." Lauren said, a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah." Amy said, dryly.

"Why are you so sad?" Lauren asked.

"It's just some old stuff coming back." Amy said.

"Like what?" Lauren asked.

"Awhile ago, I got this internship at CNN." Amy said.

"Well that's great, right? "Lauren asked.

"I never took it." Amy said.

"Why?" Lauren asked.

"A producer had just told Karma that he would help her, so I didn't want to uproot us." Amy said.

"That bitch made you give your dream internship?" Lauren asked, getting angry again.

"She never knew about it." Amy said, sadly.

"Why?" Lauren asked.

"I knew she'd make me take it and I wanted to be around when her dreams came true. Anyway, that album never got made and after that I just couldn't get myself to uproot her, she was so upset." Amy said.

"I can't believe you did that." Lauren said, somehow sounding touched and frustrated at the same time.

"Yeah, the spot is still open and they're letting people apply. I just don't know if I should." Amy said.

"Of course, you should. "Lauren said, holding Amy's hand.

"I don't know; I might not get it." Amy said.

"You have to try; promise me you'll apply." Lauren said.

"Okay, I promise." Amy said with a small smile.

Talking to Lauren made Amy feel lighter but it made Lauren realize she needed to protect Amy; she needed to have a talk with Karma.

Karma didn't sleep much that night, as happy as she was to be with Melissa, the thought of Amy being over her really bothered her. She knew it wasn't fair to Amy or Melissa, but she couldn't help it... it was Amy.

The next day Karma decided to meet Shane, she knew he would know how to make her feel better.

"Wow, that's intense." Shane said, sipping on his coffee.

"I know." Karma said, looking around.

"So now what?" Shane asked.

"Now, nothing. There's no problem, Amy seems okay." Karma said, looking more upset than she should.

"You don't seem happy about that." Shane said.

"No, I'm fine." Karma said.

"Karma, come on." Shane said.

"Okay, so I'm not ecstatic about." Karma said.

"Well, shouldn't you be?" Shane asked.

"I know I'm suppose to be, but I feel weird." Karma said.

"Why?" Shane said.

"Because I'm engaged to another woman and Amy doesn't care." Karma said.

"You found six months enough to be get engaged, it would make sense that Amy would find that enough time to get over you." Shane said.

Karma couldn't help but look a little hurt.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound rude but I'm just saying that maybe Amy is moving on too." Shane said.

"Yeah but am I suppose to be happy about that?" Karma asked.

"No, but you're not suppose to be upset, not if you're in a happy relationship." Shane said.

Karma didn't say anything, she just sipped on her coffee.

"You are happy, right?" Shane asked.

"Melissa is great." Karma said, trying to deflect the question.

"That's not what I asked you." Shane said.

"Of course, I'm happy." Karma said, trying to sound convincing.

"But?" Shane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe I'm just feeling weird being back home, all of this is too déjà vu." Karma said.

"Yeah does sound a lot like our time at Hester, except the part where you get engaged to a girl." Shane said.

Karma couldn't help but smile a little sadly at how much everything had changed. She could've never imagined Amy and her not ending up together.

Karma's thoughts were interrupted by Lauren storming toward her.

"Hey Lauren." Karma said.

"Why did you go visit Amy?" Lauren asked, getting angry all over again.

"To check how she was." Karma said.

"You want to know? She's a wreck, because of you." Lauren said.

"That was never my intention." Karma said, a lump forming in her throat.

"It never is. I'd tell you to stay away from her but I know that won't work because the two of you are like cosmically connected, so I'm telling you until you get your shit together, stay the hell away from her." Lauren said.

"Lauren... I." Karma began.

"She gave up her dream job for you, that's how much she cares. Don't take advantage of that." Lauren said.

"What job?" Karma asked.

"She got an internship at CNN a while ago but she didn't take it so you could get a record deal." Lauren said.

"I had no idea." Karma said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I know. Stay the hell away from her Karma, I mean it." Lauren said, marching off.

It felt like a lightening bolt had struck Karma. She never wanted to hurt Amy and the thought that she'd stood between Amy and her dream broke her heart.

That night, Karma couldn't sleep again. She knew she shouldn't speak to Amy but she also knew she had to or else she'd never be at peace.

Karma hesitated five times before actually dialing Amy's number and when she finally did, her heart began to race.

"Karma? It's four am, is everything okay?" Amy asked, sleepily.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Karma said, in a soft voice as she looked over at Melissa who was sleeping next to her.

"What's up?" Amy asked.

"I need to ask you something." Karma said.

"At four in the morning?" Amy asked.

"I'm sorry but I couldn't sleep thinking about it." Karma said.

"Okay, go ahead." Amy said, sitting up in her bed.

"Why didn't you take the job at CNN?" Karma asked.

"Did Lauren tell you? Damn it. What else did she say?" Amy asked.

"None of that matters. Answer the question." Karma said.

"I didn't want to spend my days fetching coffee." Amy said.

"I know when you're lying to me, Amy. It was your dream job, so tell me, why?" Karma asked.

"Because I wanted to be by your side when your dreams came true." Amy said.

Karma felt a pang in her chest when she heard Amy say that. "Why didn't you take it after my deal didn't work out?"

"Because you were really hurt and I wanted to be there for you." Amy said.

"But it was your dream." Karma said.

"I told myself it was okay, that was I was choosing my other dream, you." Amy said.

Karma didn't say anything for a second, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Thank you." Karma said in a muffled voice.

"I'd have done anything for you." Amy said, a lump forming in her throat.

After a bit of awkward conversation, they decided to hang up and as they said goodnight, the I love yous that had become habit almost escaped their lips but couldn't.


	4. Chapter 4

Amy found herself feeling better after her conversation with Karma. She couldn't help but love and hate the impact Karma still had on her.

"You seem happy." Lauren said, taking a seat next to Amy at the table, the next morning.

"Yeah, I just feel good." Amy said, with a warm smile.

"Then this is the perfect time to tell you, you have a date this afternoon." Lauren said, nonchalantly.

'I what?" Amy asked, her surprise evident in her voice.

"You have a date." Lauren said, dryly.

"You know I'm not ready yet." Amy said.

"Amy, enough of this mopping. Karma is fucking engaged, I think you can date." Lauren said.

Amy felt a pang of sadness in her chest, for a few moments she had forgotten about Karma being engaged and all had seemed right in the world.

"I won't take no for an answer, anyway." Lauren said.

Amy thought for a minute and said, "Just coffee, nothing else."

"Done." Lauren said, sounding very happy with herself.

Lauren and Amy spent the morning trying to decide the perfect outfit for Amy's date. After trying on her whole wardrobe, Amy decided to go with a pair of jeans and a top.

"This is perfect." Lauren said, looking at Amy in her white top and jeans.

Lauren dropped Amy at the coffee shop and Amy decided to get to know some stuff about her mystery date.

"Who am I going on a date with anyway?" Amy asked, feeling stupid for waiting till now to ask.

"This girl who works with my publisher. She's gorgeous, smart and drama free. I have her picture in my phone." Lauren said.

Amy picked up Lauren's phone and looked at the picture. She had to admit, she really was beautiful.

"Kate's pretty huh?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah." Amy said, dryly, trying to make sure Lauren didn't get her hopes up.

After Lauren had dropped her off, Amy looked around the coffee shop nervously, curious to meet who Lauren had picked for her. She saw a pretty brunette sitting by herself on a table in the corner. She looked like the girl from the picture on Lauren's phone and so Amy decided to go up to her.

"Kate?" Amy asked.

"Amy?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." Amy said, extending her hand to Kate.

"You too." Kate said, taking Amy's hand.

After they'd placed their orders and gotten to know some basic things about each other, Amy decided to be up front about her Karma situation. Amy'd honestly liked Kate which was why she wanted her to know what she was potentially getting into.

"Okay, I need to tell you something and it might scare you away but I think you should know." Amy said.

"What's up?" Kate asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I'm just coming off a bad break up and you're the first date I've been on since my girlfriend and I broke up." Amy said, nervously.

"Oh thank god." Kate said, looking visibly relived.

"What?" Amy asked, looking a little embarrassed.

"I thought you were going to tell me you were a serial killer." Kate said, laughing a little. "I get it, I had a horrible break up a few years ago and it really threw me off."

"Break ups always suck." Amy said, feeling relieved by Kate's calm reaction.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kate asked.

"So for a very long time I was in love with my straight best friend and when I'd lost all hope, she realized she was in love with me too. It was like all my prayers had come true. So we got together and I moved to Nashville after college with her to support her in her music career and things were good for a while, until I proposed. She completely flipped out and skipped town on me. I had no idea where she was for six months, until a few days ago when I found out she was engaged." Amy said, looking down at the table.

"That's rough. I know how you feel, when my ex and I broke up, she went and married a rebound in like a month. It killed me and dating was the last thing I wanted." Kate said.

"I'm sorry." Amy said.

"For what?" Kate asked.

"I'm sure this wasn't the date you were expecting." Amy said.

"Actually, it's exactly what I was expecting." Kate said.

"Really?" Amy asked, confused.

"Lauren told me, I was going to meet a beautiful and smart woman and I did." Kate said, smiling.

Amy didn't say anything, she just looked at Kate shyly.

"If we become something, I'm willing to take this as slowly as you need." Kate said, putting her hand on Amy's.

Amy's heart skipped a beat, for the first time in a long time for someone other than Karma.

While Amy was on her date with Kate, Karma was having coffee at the same coffee house with Melissa.

"What do you think about these for the center pieces?" Melissa asked, handing Karma a picture of some white roses.

"I don't really like roses." Karma said, absentmindedly. She had Amy on her mind but she was adamant on not letting it show.

As Melissa sifted through some pictures to show Karma, Karma looked around the coffee shop and she got a glimpse of Amy. Seeing Amy always brought a smile on her face. As Karma was trying to figure out who Amy was sitting with, she saw Kate put her hand on Amy's. Karma felt her heart sink. She had no idea why though, she was happily engaged to Melissa, right?

"How about these?" Melissa asked, showing Amy another picture.

"Yeah, this is great." Karma said, barely looking at the picture and continuing to stare at Amy.

Melissa turned back to see who Karma was staring at and spotted Amy across the room. Melissa didn't say anything to Karma but could sense something wrong.

"Who is Amy?" Melissa asked, once she and Karma had gotten home.

"You know who she is." Karma said, defensively.

"I only she was your high school best friend, but there's something more." Melissa said.

"Why would you say that?" Karma asked, trying to deflect.

"Because you've been weird since we bumped into her and today you kept staring at her and the girl she was with." Melissa said

Karma didn't say anything, she just sighed and took a seat on the couch.

"What's going on?" Melissa asked.

"Amy was my first girlfriend. We were together since high school. Six months ago, she proposed to me and I freaked out and so I left and came to Los Angeles where I met you." Karma said.

Melissa didn't say anything but Karma knew she was angry.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Melissa asked.

"Because I know what it sounds like and I didn't want you to think this was a rebound for me." Karma said.

"How do you think it sounds to me now?" Melissa asked.

"I'm so sorry, Melissa." Karma said, standing up,trying to hold Melissa's hand.

"I need to go; I need to think." Melissa said, pushing Karma's hand away.

Karma sat back down on the couch, completely heartbroken; thinking that she had already lost Amy, she couldn't lose Melissa too.


	5. Chapter 5

Karma sat for hours waiting on that couch for Melissa. She knew she'd screwed up but she just wanted a chance to fix it, she just wanted a chance to explain. After a couple of hours of waiting, Melissa finally came back.

"Thank god, you're home." Karma said, looking visibly relieved.

"Yeah, I just needed to think through some things." Melissa said, putting her keys on the table.

"I'm so sorry. I don't want you to doubt anything, okay? I was just being stupid." Karma said.

"Karma, I'm not the one in doubt, you are." Melissa said, looking at Karma for the first time since she'd entered.

"What do you mean?" Karma asked, confused.

"You're having doubts about us." Melissa said.

"No, I'm not. I promise." Karma said, walking toward Melissa.

"Then why didn't you tell me who Amy was?" Melissa asked.

"I just, I don't know. We've been so happy; I didn't want to complicate things." Karma said.

"Karma, we're getting married. Things are bound to get complicated." Melissa said.

"I know, I'm sorry." Karma said, moving closer to hug Melissa.

Melissa hugged Karma back, her anger melting away.

"I've booked our flight; we fly out to LA tomorrow night." Melissa said, after a while, once things had cooled down.

"I can't go to LA right now." Karma said.

"Why not?" Melissa asked, as she walked into their bedroom.

"Because we just got here." Karma said, walking in behind her.

"We were supposed to be here for a week, it's been a week." Melissa said.

"That was before..." Karma said, she hadn't thought through what she was going to say, it was as if the words just came out of her mouth before she even knew it.

"Before you saw Amy again?" Melissa asked, somehow knowing the answer.

"No, of course not." Karma said, nervously.

"Then?" Melissa asked, getting upset.

"We just got here, okay? I just want to be with my parents for a little longer." Karma said.

"Karma, you're never going to feel you've had enough time with your parents. Our lives in LA are waiting for us." Melissa said.

"Come on, can't we stay a little longer?" Karma asked.

"I don't think we can." Melissa said.

"Why not?" Karma asked, getting angry.

"Because I don't think your parents are the reason you want to stay and I love you, Karma but I can't stay here and watch you be in love with Amy." Melissa said.

"That is not true. I'm not in love with Amy." Karma said, moving closer toward Melissa.

Melissa stepped back, wanting some distance. "I'll be at the airport tomorrow night, if you come, I won't ever ask about Amy and we'll start our lives together. If you don't, I'll know that you never really got over Amy."

"Melissa, come on..." Karma started but Melissa had already started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Karma asked,crying.

"I think I'll crash at a friend's house tonight." Melissa said.

"Why?" Karma asked, sobbing.

"Because you have a lot to figure out." Melissa said, as she walked out the door.

Karma sat down on her bed, feeling totally defeated. She was genuinely trying to not let her past with Amy get in the way of her future with Melissa but the fact was that she and Amy did have a lot of history none of which Karma could erase to make Melissa feel better. The truth was, Karma didn't want to erase a single thing.

After Karma had gotten a little bit of control over herself, she decided to go see her mom.

"Hey Karma, what's going on?" Molly said as she sleepily opened the door for Karma.

"I just really wanted to talk to you." Karma said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Is everything okay?" Molly asked, taking a seat on the couch in her living room.

"No." Karma said, taking a seat next to her mother.

"What's going on, honey?" Molly asked, putting an arm around her daughter.

"I never told Melissa that Amy and I used to date and today she just asked me about it and we got in this huge fight. She wants us to fly to LA tomorrow and I don't want to go. She told me that if I don't show up at the airport tomorrow, she'll know I still love Amy." Karma said, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry honey." Molly said.

"What am I suppose to do, mom?" Karma asked.

"I think you have to ask yourself if you love Amy." Molly said.

"Amy and I have been broken up for a while now, plus I'm with Melissa now." Karma said, defensively.

"I know. I just think there was a reason you didn't tell Melissa about her." Molly said.

"I didn't want to complicate things." Karma said.

"I've never known you to shy away from complicated, Karma." Molly said.

Karma looked at her mother with tears in her eyes, feeling utterly confused and heartbroken.

"I don't want to go to LA." Karma said, after a while.

"Why?" Molly asked.

"I want to be with you, a little longer." Karma said, hugging her mother tighter.

"Are you sure that's all?" Molly asked.

"What do you mean?" karma asked.

"Karma, we talk everyday. You and I both know this isn't about me." Molly said.

"What is it about?" Karma asked.

"Amy." Molly said.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Karma asked, getting irritated.

"Because it's crystal clear to everyone but you." Molly said.

"Amy doesn't even want to talk to me after what I did to her." Karma said, sadly.

"All you need to ask yourself is that if the roles were reversed, would you forgive her?" Molly said.

Karma didn't say anything but she couldn't help but think about what her mom had just said. It was a question she had never asked herself but she knew the answer would solve all of her problems.

The next night, Melissa waited at the entrance to the airport. She wasn't sure about the way she had left things with Karma. She was angry but all she wanted was for Karma to show up right now and tell her she loves her.

Melissa had waited a while and she was worried she would miss her flight. Just as she began walking toward the gate, she saw a familiar red head walk toward her. Melissa couldn't help but smile her biggest smile.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry about the lack of updates but I've been having the worst case of writer's block. Inspiration finally struck and I decided to update. Thank you to all the readers, I hope you like how the story progresses. Let me know what you think!

Melissa had never been so happy to see Karma. She began to walk toward her.

"I'm so glad you decided to come, babe." Melissa said, with the biggest smile.

"Melissa..." Karma began.

"You still love her, don't you?" Melissa asked, as the smile disappeared from her face.

"I'm so sorry." Karma said, a lump forming in her throat.

"Have a nice life, Karma." Melissa said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Karma wanted to explain, tell Melissa this wasn't about her but she just couldn't get the words out; Karma just watched Melissa as she walked out of her life.

The truth was, Karma knew she still loved Amy the second she'd seen her in the mall last week, she just wasn't ready to believe it. As much as she wished she was over Amy, she wasn't and Karma was starting to realize, she never would be.

Karma was now determined to get Amy back, she needed Amy to forgive her for all that she had done.

Amy on the other hand was on a high after her date with Kate. Amy hadn't felt this good in a long time and she finally felt like she was ready to move on.

"You look happy." Lauren said, walking into Amy's room that night.

"I had a great date with Kate." Amy said, smiling.

"I told you she was great!" Lauren said, happily.

"Thank you, I really needed this." Amy said.

"I'm just glad you're out of your funk." Lauren said, taking a seat on Amy's bed.

"Well I am." Amy said, sounding proud of herself.

"Now that your date with Kate has gone so well, you have a date to take to my book launch." Lauren said.

"Your book launch?" Amy asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah, you remember how I met my publisher a few days ago? They were really happy with the final draft of my new book. They've decided to launch it as soon as possible." Lauren said, with a small smile.

"That's great Lauren! I didn't even know you were writing." Amy said, feeling genuinely proud of her sister.

"I wasn't, but these past few weeks, I've been feeling like myself again." Lauren said.

"Feeling like yourself again?" Amy asked, not sure about what Lauren meant.

"It's nothing." Lauren said, starting to wish she hadn't said anything.

"Why were you not feeling like yourself? Is this about Liam?" Amy asked.

Lauren and Liam had been dating since their junior year of high school. They'd been pretty on and off, so Amy had stopped taking their break ups seriously. When she and Lauren came back, Amy had asked her about Liam but all she'd said was that they were now permanently broken up.

Lauren didn't say much, she just looked at Amy with a sad look in her eyes.

"What happened between you guys?" Amy asked, holding Lauren's hand.

"He came with me to Dallas after high school and he started doing some modeling. It started out just for fun but he started getting a lot of work. Anyway, he got a contract in New York. We did the long distance thing but his new career changed him. He used to be so nice, all he wanted was to be an artist but once he moved to New York, he was different. He became rude and obnoxious. I just couldn't do it anymore." Lauren said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Lauren." Amy said, putting her arm around her sister.

"I'd lost myself for a while. Our relationship was such a big part of my life, I just didn't know who I was outside of it. I guess all I really needed was to come home." Lauren said, smiling as her tears began to fall.

"Well, we don't need Liam and Karma. We have each other and everything is going to be okay." Amy said, pulling her sister into a hug and for the first time, both of them actually felt like everything was finally working out.

Amy and Lauren barely saw each other the rest of the week. Lauren was too busy with her book launch and Amy was busy spending all her time with Kate.

Kate and Amy were lying on Amy's bed. Neither of them said anything, they just lay in bed, holding hands.

"Ooh! I forget to ask you something." Amy said, sitting up.

"What's going on?" Kate asked, sitting up after her.

"Lauren has her book launch in two days, do you want to go?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, I'd love to." Kate said.

"It's a date." Amy said, leaning in to kiss Kate.

Things had been so good with them lately that Amy was starting to feel like she was ready to be in a relationship again. She decided to wait until the night of the book launch to tell Kate.

It was the night before the launch and Lauren was on the verge of losing her mind.

"Why are you so worried?" Amy asked, sitting next to Lauren at the table.

"Because my book is getting launched tomorrow and none of the arrangements are the way they should be." Lauren said, anxiously.

"The publishers will take care of that." Amy said.

Lauren wasn't listening to Amy anymore; She continued to scroll through her list of things to do on her iPad,

Amy snatched Lauren's iPad to get Lauren's attention.

"Hey!" Lauren said, getting irritated.

"You need to breathe, okay? Everyone is going to love your book." Amy said. It had been a year since Lauren's first book had come out and Amy knew Lauren was worried about her next book being as successful as her first.

"Of course they are, why wouldn't they? I'm the author after all." Lauren said, trying to sound confident.

Amy couldn't help but smirk at how self-assured Lauren always managed to sound .Before Amy could probe the subject further, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get that." Amy said, as Lauren went back to her list.

"Hey Lauren, I think you should come here." Amy shouted from the door.

"I honestly don't have the time for this Amy." Lauren shouted back, sounding even more irritated than before.

"I think you're going to want to see this." Amy shouted back.

"What is it?" Lauren asked, as she walked hurriedly to the door, trying to save as much time as she could.

"Hi." The man at the door said in a deep voice.

"Liam?" Lauren said.

"I'm going to leave you two." Amy said, trying to wriggle out of what she knew was going to be a very awkward situation.

"What are you doing here?" Lauren asked as she felt a rush of emotions.

"It's good to see you too." Liam said, with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Lauren asked sternly. She was in no mood to deal with Liam right now.

"I wanted to apologize." Liam said.

"Apologize for what?" Lauren asked, having a flashback of all the fights they'd had before they finally broke up.

"For being a dick." Liam said.

"Yeah well, it's a little too late for that." Lauren said, slamming the door in Liam's face.

Lauren went back into the living room and began to work as if nothing had happened.

"Well?" Amy asked.

"Well what?" Lauren asked.

"What'd he say?" Amy asked, sounding like an excited child.

"He wanted to apologize for being a dick." Lauren said.

"What did you say?" Amy asked.

"I slammed the door in his face." Lauren said, nonchalantly.

"Why?" Amy asked.

"Because I'm finally me. Tomorrow is a big night for me, I can't have everything be about us again." Lauren said.

Amy wanted to say something reassuring but she couldn't find the words. She knew exactly how Lauren felt. Amy was now sure that It was time for both the sisters to move on.


	7. Chapter 7

Karma couldn't stop thinking about Amy. As much as she wanted to tell Amy how much she loved her and how Amy was the only one she wanted to spend her life with; she knew things weren't that simple anymore. Karma knew how much she had screwed up and how there was a real chance that Amy would never forgive her.

Karma couldn't help but panic at the thought of never winning Amy back. She decided to meet Shane;He always had a way of calming Karma down.

Karma and Shane decided to meet at the coffee shop. After placing their orders, they decided to sit a table in the corner and talk.

"Hey, what's going on? You sounded kind of upset on the phone." Shane asked, as Karma and he took a seat at the little table.

"Melissa and I broke up." Karma said.

"I'm sorry, what happened?" Shane asked.

"I knew I didn't want to spend my life with her." Karma said.

"What made you realize that?" Shane asked.

"After Melissa got really mad about me not telling her about my past with Amy, I went to speak to my mom. She told me that all I needed to ask myself was if I would've forgive Amy, if the roles were reversed and that was when I realized as heartbroken as I would be, I'd forgive Amy for anything." Karma said.

"I was always rooting for you two. So, are you gonna try and win her back?" Shane asked.

"I want to, she's the only one I want to be with but after what I did, I don't know if she'd take me back." Karma said, looking down at the table.

"Oh come on, it's you and Amy. Amy loves you." Shane said.

"Amy used to love me but after what I did, I don't know if she still does. Plus, she's with Kate now." Karma said, getting irritated at the thought of Amy and Kate together.

"So what are you gonna do?" Shane asked.

"I think I'm gonna talk to her at Lauren's book launch tonight. I just want to know how she's feeling." Karma said.

"That's a good idea. You'll know what to do once you speak to her." Shane said.

"I guess so, but I really screwed up, Shane." Karma said, sadly.

"You're trying to fix it now and who knows, Amy might actually forgive you." Shane said, trying to sound reassuring.

"I guess so." Karma said, trying to feel hopeful.

Shane decided to go with Karma for the party, for moral support. Karma kept trying to think of the right words to say to Amy but she couldn't think of anything that would show Amy how truly sorry she was.

Karma was standing with Shane by the bar, looking around nervously. She was scanning the room for Amy but couldn't find her. Just as she was going to stop looking, a tall blonde in an off shoulder black dress caught her eye. Seeing Amy made Karma's heart race. In that moment, she couldn't figure out why she ever left Amy. The truth was that never for a second had she stopped loving Amy but because of her insecurities,she might have lost her forever.

Karma was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of Shane's voice.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked.

"No." Karma said.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked, getting a little worried.

"I really screwed up." Karma said.

"What are you talking about?" Shane asked, confused.

"With Amy. Look at how beautiful she looks tonight. She loved me and I blew it." Karma said, a lump forming in her throat.

"Don't do this to yourself right now. You should go and talk to her." Shane said.

"I can't, not right now anyway." Karma said, trying to calm herself.

"Then when?" Shane asked.

"Once she's alone." Karma said.

Shane shrugged and decided to get Karma and himself a drink. He knew nothing he would say would have any effect on Karma, so he decided to just stand next to her for support.

After an hour or so, Amy began to leave the room. Karma who was now seated at one of the tables with Shane, decided to go after her.

"Amy?" Karma called out after her.

Amy turned around to see who it was.

"Hey." Amy said.

"I wanted to talk to you." Karma said, nervously.

"About what?" Amy asked.

"Us." Karma said, walking closer to Amy.

"There's nothing to talk about, I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy." Amy said, starting to walk away.

"Melissa and I broke up." Karma blurted out, trying to find a way to stop Amy.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Amy said.

"Is that really all you have to say?" Karma asked, her heart sinking a little.

"Yeah." Amy said, trying to seem nonchalant.

"We were best friends before we started dating Amy and you can't even talk to me now." Karma said, with tears in her eyes.

"A lot has changed since then Karma." Amy said, feeling a pang in her chest as she spoke the words.

"I know and I'm sorry. Can you at least talk to me?" Karma said.

"Karma, sorry can't fix what happened. Now isn't the time to talk. You had a ton of time to say something while we were together but you chose to disappear." Amy said.

"I know, I screwed up. I'm so sorry." Karma said.

"You're sorry? Do you have any idea what I went through? I had no idea where you were for six months. And when I finally found out you were okay, you were fucking engaged." Amy said, she couldn't stop herself anymore. For months she'd tried to make it seem like Karma hadn't gotten to her but she couldn't do it, not after this.

"I can't imagine what it was like for you." Karma said, tears were now falling down her cheeks. She wanted to fall, feeling as if her body was breaking.

"Yeah, you can't. You never once thought about me. I'd have given up the world for you Karma. I was so caught up in trying to make you happy that I didn't have a life beyond you. So imagine what it was like when you left, I had nothing. My life was over." Amy said, sobbing.

"There are no words to describe how sorry I am for what I did to you. I know it doesn't matter but leaving wasn't about you or even us. I just I was lost." Karma said.

"Yeah well, what's done is done, right?" Amy said and walked away.

Karma felt her heart breaking. She couldn't believe how selfish she'd been. Seeing the hurt in Amy's eyes made Karma hate herself. Karma knew that even if she could never get Amy back, she needed to get her forgiveness.


End file.
